<p>I will not commute, I want to experience college not to more years of high school when my friends are going to Lehigh, Kutztown and Hartwick and having an awsome time when I am still sitting at home like a bum.
There parents are paying for evey bit of it too, which great for them but sucks for me, it ****es me off about how much they don’t care.
I guess I will just have to wait and see how much aid I do get and go from there.
Thanks</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>Please don’t wait until you get your aid packages and then “go from there.” </p>
<p>None of the OOS publics are going to give you the financial aid you need. They just don’t have the funds to give non-resident students any money. Plus, you have an uncovered EFC…what would you do about that? No one is going to lend you $20k without a co-signer. You can only borrow $5500 as a freshman. </p>
<p>I’m sorry that your parents made the choices they did, which severely limit your choices. It’s not that they don’t love you, it’s more likely that they don’t have much foresight, and when they are faced with their mistakes, they correct them for the younger kids. </p>
<p>If you don’t apply to a SUNY that you can commute to, you will be “sitting at home like a bum.” Yes, you have every right to feel awful that your friends parents are paying for them to go away. Your parents may be just pretending not to care, because they’re embarrassed that they didn’t prepare for your college costs. </p>
<p>Think about this…</p>
<p>If spring comes, and you don’t have any affordable options, what are you going to do?</p>
<p>At least if you apply to a SUNY by your home, you’ll have this option. Being a commuter doesn’t mean that you have to spend much time at home. College isn’t like high school that shuts down at 3 pm. If you want to have more of a campus experience as a commuter, than spend your evenings there, too. Join clubs, go to athletic events, use their rec facilities, if they have a greek system, join a frat. Use the campus library to study.</p>
<p>Get a part-time job to pay for your tuition (which you’ll be responsible for). Take out a Stafford loan to help with tuition and books.</p>
<p>You can basically just use your home as a place to sleep.</p>
<p>But, please don’t refuse to apply to a local SUNY. Your financial situation is too tenuous.</p>
<p>Just had a thought…</p>
<p>At worst, you may only have to commute to your local SUNY for 2 years. Once your sibling is applying to colleges, your EFC will drop to (did you say about $10k), and then you could apply to some privates that give good financial aid. :)</p>
<p>But, you’d have to make sure that you get strong grades these next 2 years, to get accepted to a private that gives great FA. :)</p>
<p>Think about this…if your parents financial situation is as bad as you say, they’re not likely going to have the funding for your sibling, either. They’re not going to be able to spend money that they don’t have. Credit card debt takes a very long time to get rid of.</p>
<p>They are not trying to get rid of it trust me.</p>
<p>They said they will co-sign a loan so I can take out a loan for around $80K and just pay about $700 per month for 10 years.</p>
<p>The only good thing is I WILL have a job the day I graduate, I want to do engineering and my uncle is a big shot from his best friends engineering business.</p>
<p>Well, then it looks like you’ll be able to go to SUNY Stony Brook, because to go to those other out-of-state publics, you’d need to borrow the full COA since they won’t care that your EFC is $20k. They won’t meet your need.</p>
<p>I don’t like the idea of an undergrad borrowing that much. Engineers do get paid well, but borrowing $80k, which would be a payment of $920 a month - not $700, is not affordable. </p>
<p>Do you have any idea of how crippling that much debt would be? </p>
<p>And, if your parents have credit card debt, are you sure that they would qualify to borrow that much money? </p>
<p>Loan Calculator</p>
<pre><code>Loan Balance: $80,000.00
Adjusted Loan Balance: $80,000.00
Loan Interest Rate: 6.80%
Loan Fees: 0.00%
Loan Term: 10 years
Minimum Payment: $50.00
</code></pre>
<p>** Monthly Loan Payment: $920.64**
Number of Payments: 120</p>
<pre><code>Cumulative Payments: $110,477.25
Total Interest Paid: $30,477.25
</code></pre>
<p>It is estimated that **you will need an annual salary of at least $110,476.80 **to be able to afford to repay this loan.</p>
<p>I hope that others chime in here about the idea of borrowing $80k to go to SUNY Stony Brook</p>
<p>You don’t seem to be facing the facts. You have an opportunity to make something of yourself despite this unfortunate setback. All is not lost if you have to commute to school. You still have the opportunity to transfer without weighing yourself down with SO much debt. I don’t think “having a college experience” is worth 80k in debt. Visit your friends on weekends. Trust me they won’t think any less of you because of your parents mistakes and if they do then they aren’t really friends.</p>
<p>I will just have to get my parents spend some money, they like loans so hopefully I can get them another one.</p>
<p>*they like loans so hopefully I can get them another one. *</p>
<p>What does this mean?</p>
<p>OP, I understand working on your parents, but, in the meantime, could you apply to some SUNYs so, worst case scenario, you still have somewhere to go? It’s just playing it safe. </p>
<p>As far as the schools you mentioned, your friends are going to privates. Their parents might be paying their EFCs but their EFCs might also be covered by <em>merit</em> scholarships. If they are going to a school where they are way above average, the school might have given them merit $ to go there.</p>
<p>
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<p>Going to CC or commuting doesn’t mean you’re poor or academically lazy. For many kids, it’s a smart financial move. You really need to stop feeling “entitled” to go to an OOS or 4 year college and start making some adult level decisions about your own future. I’m smart and work hard and feel I deserve to drive a luxury car like many of my friends have…but I drive an 8 year old Honda Accord! My priority is helping my kids get an education and having money to live on when I retire.<br>
My daughter is in college at a SUNY about 3 hours away and is NOT taking out huge loans, unlike many of her friends at OOS and private schools. Therefore, she’s able to concentrate on her studies and doesn’t need to work during the semester. At this point, mid-freshman year, some of her HS friends are “seeing the light” and considering transferring to CC or SUNY schools to save money for grad school. She has friends who decided to start at the local CC because their parents weren’t able to help them financially - they certainly weren’t ostracized because of this and they’ve visted her, and various other friends at different schools, on weekends. According to them, her SUNY was one of the nicer (dorm-wise), and more entertaining, schools to visit! But, believe me, the dorm experience is not worth the extra $9K a year and she’d move home in a heartbeat if our local SUNY offered her major! She has made many friends at school who live at home and commute. They spend more time at school in the library, student union, games, gym, and hanging in the dorms than they do at home. They do get to go home to a nicer place with a stocked fridge though! Sometimes they invite a few dorm kids home for a meal or to a local event - it’s a huge treat to get away from school for an evening.</p>
<p>Anyway, the point is that you should keep an open mind to every possibility. Please don’t sabotage your future by following in your parent’s footsteps and spending money you know you don’t have. In general, college is only what you make it. Engineering majors in particular don’t usually have time to have an “awesome” social life if they want to stay in their major!</p>
<p>2collegewego quote: * in the meantime, could you apply to some SUNYs so, worst case scenario, you still have somewhere to go? *</p>
<p>He has applied to SUNY Stony Brook…BUT…since he can’t commute there, he plans on borrowing his family’s EFC to go there (Family’s EFC is $20k and they won’t pay.)</p>
<p>That plan means borrowing $80k for a SUNY - that’s too much undergrad debt!</p>
<p>There’s no way of knowing whether his parents will even qualify to co-sign that much money. Who knows, next year, the bank may say “no,” or they may say “no” the following year. No offense intended, but the fact that they are even ok with co-signing that much debt for an undergrad suggests that they don’t have a full understanding of finances. After all, they’re making $90k and they can’t contribute anything, yet they expect a new engineer to pay $12k per year in debt payments? </p>
<p>Again, I don’t mean any offense; I’m just trying to help you avoid a disaster. :)</p>
<p>Upon graduation, his loan payments will be over $900 a month. Engineers don’t make enough money to be able to pay that back, PLUS pay for normal living expenses. That debt will negatively affect much of his adult life.</p>
<p>He needs to be encouraged to apply to a SUNY that he can commute to as a financial safety. Then, if desired, when his younger brother goes to college in a couple of years, his EFC will drop, and then he could transfer to a private (or wherever) that gives good financial aid (assuming that he’ll had good grades.)</p>
<p>Another option would be to find a 3rd tier private that might give him a generous merit package because they want more males or because his stats are desirable.</p>
<p>mom2collegekids,</p>
<p>“Some SUNYs” is plural. He did not apply to “some SUNYs” he applied to “a/one SUNY.”</p>
<p>Have you considered taking a gap year? If you look at colleges that will let you defer a year this might help in two ways:</p>
<p>1) You’ll be able to work for a year to earn some money towards school.
2) Your sibling will be in college when you are a sophomore, not a junior, giving you an extra year of a lower tuition.</p>
<p>It also might give you some extra time to show some books or websites to your parents, to help them understand the process. Maybe they will be more willing to adjust their lifestyle and prioritize their finances to help at least a little bit.</p>
<p>Sorry to hear about your difficult situation, and I wish you the best of luck with everything.</p>
<p>*“Some SUNYs” is plural. He did not apply to “some SUNYs” he applied to “a/one SUNY.” *</p>
<p>Oh, I know…I wasn’t criticizing. 
I was trying to get you to also suggest that he apply to a SUNY that he could commute to. I was concerned because if he just applied to SUNYs that required R&B, he’d still have to borrow these ridiculous amounts. Borrowing $80k for a SUNY is just a bad solution!
:)</p>
<p>MacTessa…that’s a good strategy. I just get the feeling that he really wants to go to college in the fall, since all of his peers are going.</p>
<p>I think MacTessa has a good idea. You may feel you are too smart for CC but your performance indicates you don’t care about school. Your standardized tests are good but you haven’t fulfilled that promise in your grades. A gap year might help you see the value of school.</p>
<p>From another post:
GPA - 83 (School does not convert)</p>
<p>SATs - 1200/1600 1680/2400
Math - 670
CR - 530
Writing - 480 (Essay 8)</p>
<p>Rank - 152/195 (Bottom 50%)</p>
<p>Courses - About half were honors but no APs.</p>
<p>Senior Year (So far) -</p>
<p>1st marking Period -
Engineering - 97
English - 75
Physics - 78
Pre-Calc - 54
Economics - 79</p>
<p>2nd marking period -
Engineering 90-100
English - 60-64
Physics - 70-79
Pre-Calc - 61
Economics - 70-79</p>
<p>EC’s - Varsity Soccer</p>
<p>Me - Male, White, Income - $120,000(In NY is not a lot), Live in NY near West Point.</p>
<p>Major (hopefully) - Mechanical Engineering or Civil Engineering</p>
<p>Erin’s Dad, thanks for that added information. </p>
<p>Soccer… I am not trying to rain on your parade but I want you to understand something. If you really, really want to become an engineer, starting at your local cc may very well be your best chance. It looks like you are currently struggling in PreCalc. You will need to master it and take several semesters of Calculus to be an engineer. I know that our cc has supports (math tutors) and lots of flexibility with retaking courses-- flexibility that won’t be there if you enter a ft, residential engineering program. (In those programs, you often take 18 credits at a time and have to pass each of the grueling courses or you mess up your sequence.)</p>
<p>So I know that right now, your options seem limited. But what you can’t tell is how many of your friends will actually make it through their colleges. I want you to know that about half won’t … and many who do will change majors (sometimes because they just can’t make it through the STEM classes). So I would advise you to change the way you look at it and consider that the cc may offer you flexibility (to take fewer classes at once, for example) that the 4year won’t. </p>
<p>By the way, another option is to consider the military. I don’t know if you’re interested in it but lots of people earn their college degrees using military benefits-- and I believe people who’ve served in the military are considered independent for financial aid purposes.</p>
<p>Thanks Erin’s Dad for the info…</p>
<p>Ohhhh…I didn’t know that. Well, then scholarships aren’t likely even at a private. most require at least a 3.5 GPA for scholarship consideration, and a 83 is about 3.0 GPA or below.</p>
<p>Am I the only one who’s concerned about how someone who’s getting 50s and 60s in PreCal is going to do in Engineering? I realize that he’s doing well in his HS engineering class, but he’s going to have to take at least Cal I, II, III, and Differential Equations for engineering.</p>
<p>*Live in NY near West Point.
*</p>
<p>So, does that mean that you live close enough to commute to SUNY Purchase or SUNY New Paltz? It looks like you’re too far to possibly commute to Stony Brook.</p>
<p>If you don’t want to take a gap year or go to a CC, then you need to apply to Purchase or New Paltz as a financial safety. Your parents may not qualify for a $20k loan each year. You can’t depend on that. And, the interest rate may be awful on an unsecured loan.</p>
<p>My son will most likely be going to a CC. He’s very smart and has above average grades. The CC in south central PA, provides a dual enrollment program with several state colleges. He will be enrolled at both the CC and the State College while he knocks out some requirements and explores his major (Psych) at the CC. He will also be saving about $30k. He will have a degree from the state school and have considerably less debt than his sister. Don’t knock the CCs. It is your life AFTER the next four years that will count. You don’t want to start life with $80k in debt.</p>
<p>I applied to local CC a long time ago so if I don’t get this straightened out then I will just be stuck there for two years.</p>
<p>I found out today have 7k saved in bank from grandparents so that help and my parents said they will help now, finally.</p>